Everyone loves his mother tongue and prays for its rapid propagation and enhancement. And Malayalees .....

Everyone loves his mother tongue and prays for its rapid propagation and enhancement. And Malayalees are no different.
To make the residential Malayalees proficient in their mother tongue, Kerala government a few years ago started Malayalam Mission in Mumbai, like in other metropolitan cities of India and to carry out its task, formed adhoc committees. There is another body in Mumbai and its suburbs to propagate Malayalam. Since their object is similar, people thought they are working in unison. Now we realise, we are wrong.
The government sponsored Mission has its own method of functioning and modalities. Often leaders of both were found in the same events but the bubble got burst last month. A meeting was organised in Navi Mumbai to discuss various means to improve the participation of students but certain office bearers of the Mission deliberately or otherwise kept away from it. The people assembled discussed the subject and found that initially there were more than 7,000 students in more than 100 classes but the strength is now dwindled to about 2,000. Their discussions led to the conclusions that either the children or their parents lost the initial enthusiasm due to various reasons such as lack of time due to other engagements, transport, support from parents and not because of the short comings of the teachers. The teachers are trained by the Mission but are not paid by any one for the work they put forth. Recently the government agreed to pay them a lump sum amount once a year but it is yet to be reimbursed, like all disbursals of the government.
It was reported that the meeting discussed all relevant matters in great depth but what were the findings was not known.
One basic factor was not given adequate importance, we feel. Malayalees since time immemorial, are migrating to various regions and once they find an ideal ground, they never return to their origin unless sent back by their government (in that sense, the word ‘pravasi’ is unsuitable to them). In this case, they have a strong bond with their brethren, the Tamils. Whereas the latter group has injected a strong sense of love for their mother tongue into their blood, Malayalees are not known for this character. If we observe closely, the second and third generation of Malayalees in Mumbai or elsewhere are not very keen to gain proficiency in this language as it does not give him any advantage in the local job market. Some of them may speak at home a kind corrupted language but they are totally alien to its script and other forms. A language prospers when it has something irresistible to offer. Cherusseri wrote all his works when Malayalam did not have its own alphabet and that forced others to design an alphabet. Now the roles are reversed. Is there anything worth reading in the modern Malayalam literature that would force the young to learn the language?
In 2011, a film by Mel Gibson and believed to be in English, came for exhibition but the audience could not digest it fully. On exploration, they found its language was not English but Aramaic. The movie was such a super hit that the people who saw it wanted to learn that language. Similarly a few years ago, a film titled ‘Byari’ was released in Beary language in Kerala and many wanted to learn that language (It did have a premature death, no doubt). Is there anything in the modern Malayalam that drives the youth to reinvent Malayalam? Doubtful! Even the Malayalees of Kerala are not keen to learn Malayalam. On the contrary, they opt for Sanskrit, Hindi or French. Even the eminent writers of Malayalam did not opt for that language during the college education. it is to be studied ehy English medium schools are throbbing while Malayalam medium are facing a certain slow death.
The blame lies not with the youth but with their parents. The latter failed to point out the best in Malayalam, probably due to lack of knowledge or time and anyway the damage is done.
Malayalam has now been accorded classic status and has a dedicated university to propagate it but will it wave its magic? Doubtful! (We already have a university for Sanskrit and there is now clamour for one for Arabic).
In Mumbai, Malayalam, despite its classic status, cannot be shown as a capable language that would lead to a lucrative job, but only as a pointer to one’s past and tradition. Once the soul is lost, no amount of money can retrieve it.
Let that be our Mission and direction and that alone would work now! How can you save Malayalam that faces a slow death in its own State?
We invite your views on this.
Place your comments below.

Kerala in Mumbai is conducting a Malayalam Light Music Competition (Malayalam film songs also permitted) in association with Raagalaya Academy of Music & Arts on 29th January 2017 at Marol Education Academy, Bhavani Nagar, Marol, Mumbai- 400059 from 9 am onwards.

The competition will be held in six different age groups

GROUPS

AGE

Group A

5 - 10

Group B

11 - 15

Group C

16 - 25

Group D

26 - 40

Group E

41 - 60

Group F

61 & Above

Participants are allowed to sing any Malayalam song of their choice.

The song has to be by heart.

We will provide a keyboard and tabla for support to the participants.

The results will be announced after each session

There will be first and second prize winners from both male and female participants.

Entry fee is Rs.250.

Those who are interested can register their name with Kerala in Mumbai office on 022-29209959, 022-29205641, +919820110509.

You can also download the registration form from our website www.keralainmumbai.com and return to us along with a cheque of Rs.250/- in favour of ‘Raagalaya Academy of Music & Arts’ to our address